The picture gives us our direction: "Let's make chocolate!"

The last year has been challenging for everyone. I'll share what is going on with Creo.

Review

• January through March 15, 2020 were great months.  We enjoyed a great time of sharing the chocolate story on lots of tours with strong sales; then the crash happened.
• In March, Janet and Kevin enjoyed a couple-weeks' trip to San Diego and San Francisco. This ended up being Janet's last business trip. They had a great time building memories together, getting back home just in front of the covid pandemic.

The Great Pivot

• In mid-March we were faced with covid preventing us from continuing our live tour-based chocolate-sharing model.  What should we do? We pivoted and brushed the dust off the mailing list that we hadn't used much before.
• We started to pour energy into making our online presence more user-friendly.
• We then built a new website.
• We started doing videos in-house, with the vision of doing a short video of each of Creo's products, telling the story behind each one. Next up, we are planning cooking videos, including sharing the recipe for our brownies, to help you look good using Creo products.

Janet

• On December 31, 2019, Janet had a double mastectomy, as her cancer had returned. Doctors initially gave her a clean bill of health after that. Later, we found out that the cancer had moved into her lungs. In April, she started chemotherapy again. The chemo continued into October but never really helped. On October 30, Janet was admitted to the hospital.  It soon became evident that the battle with cancer was being lost.  One week in the hospital, two weeks at home on hospice, and then on November 22, Janet went to be with Jesus. No more pain, no more tears, but filled with joy, being with Jesus.  
• Janet left a huge void, but we are determined to continue on with Creo Chocolate, which Janet, Kevin, and Tim have poured our lives into. It is hard, but we have the support of people like you to continue. We are very blessed.

Truffles

• Creo's chocolatier retired in January 2021. Now we are doing all the truffles in-house.  Jeremy did a great job the last 10 years, bringing it to this point. We are using what he developed, and continue to make improvements.  This is a large undertaking for us, as Jeremy's shoes are big for us to fill.  At first we were a bit intimidated, but now we are very excited and have a renewed vision for Creo's confections.
• Creo has once again received international awards on a number of products, but what we value more is your love of our chocolate.

Looking Forward

• We have just purchased another German enrober to be dedicated to milk chocolate.  We will be starting a milk chocolate caramel line in the near future.
• Another upcoming product is burnt caramel NW hazelnuts covered in chocolate. 
• We continue to pour energy into research and development. We hope you enjoy the new products that we add. 
• We are looking forward to the return of the tours as soon as it is safe.
• Let us know your comments -- we are here for you.

We are committed to continue even though it is hard. We are so blessed. 

Let's make chocolate!